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Who Murdered 8-Year-Old Sherri Lynn Swalley Before She Got to Disney World?

Her slaughtered body was on display for all 150 apartment residents to see. Her case remains unsolved and needs attention.

Rivy Lyon
4 min readJun 10, 2023
Sherri Lynn Swalley. Uncovered

In December 1973, 8-year-old Sherri Swalley and her 5-year-old brother were on what was supposed to be the vacation of a lifetime. Their father was taking them to Disney World for Christmas! The trio was making the long trip from their home in Columbus, Ohio to Florida and decided to make a stop along the way in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday, December 23 to visit an old friend.

Many of the gas stations on their route were closed due to the holidays, so John Swalley decided it would be best for him and the children to stop for the night in order to avoid getting stranded on the side of the road. He had arranged to stay overnight with a man named Clyde Williamson. Clyde and John first met while working at the Westinghouse Electric Company plant in Mansfield, Ohio.

When they arrived at the Pace Setters apartment complex at 308 Skipper Place, Sherri and her little brother were given permission to play with the children living there. Mrs. Carolyn Ellis, a resident who lived in the same building, saw Sherri playing with the other children in her apartment, which was typical…

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Rivy Lyon
Rivy Lyon

Written by Rivy Lyon

Investigative Journalist | Criminology, psychology & sociology B.A. | I’ve loved true crime since Forensic Files was Medical Detectives!

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